Sweathead, A Strategy Podcast

Five years ago this week (February 25, 2018-2023), I published the first episode of Sweathead.  I was doing talks up the West Coast of the USA and I was trying to work out what to do with the next phase of my life. Yes, I was 39 at the time.  I interviewed Richard Shotton about his book "The Choice Factory" from a hotel room in Los Angeles. It was all very raw. I published it unedited. I was just trying to re-find my voice and get a sense of new momentum in my life. So, for this week, I'm sharing a two-part interview with Richard. In this episode, we talk about his leap at independence–how has it all been going? In part two, we discuss Richard's new book "The Illusion of Choice: 16 1/2 Psychological Biases That Influence What We Buy". You can find Richard here: https://www.astroten.co.uk/ ** Next strategy training: Lucky Generals Cofounder Andy Nairn teaches a masterclass on planning superpowers (Feb 23) The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator (March) Details: http://www.sweathead.com. ** Sign up to our weekly strategy newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5 ** Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world. We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies.

Jon Evans is a CMO at System1 in the UK. But he also runs a podcast called Uncensored CMO in which he discusses the trials and tribulations of being a CMO in public. In this episode of Sweathead, Jon shares some of the things he's learned from speaking to CMOs. Call them "secrets" if you like. You can find Jon here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uncensoredcmo/ ** Next strategy training: Lucky Generals Cofounder Andy Nairn teaches a masterclass on planning superpowers (Feb 23) The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator (March) Details: http://www.sweathead.com. ** Sign up to our weekly strategy newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5 ** Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world. We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies.

Andy Nairn is running our first masterclass of the year.  On February 23, he'll spend 3 hours helping play with your planning superpowers. And Andy should know. He's been the UK's Planner of The Year several times, he's Co-founder of Lucky Generals, an agency that TBWA bought into 5 years ago and an agency that's made four of the five most-watched ads in the past five years. Seems like some superpower stuff going on, right?  In this episode of Sweathead, we discuss the TBWA part-acquisition of Lucky Generals as well as how to understand your strengths.  You can find out about Andy's superclass here: https://sweathead.com/products/andy-nairns-masterclass/  Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with all of our classes, events, and conferences: https://linkin.bio/sweathead

In this episode, R/GA's Siona Singletary interviews me, Mark, deploying questions that strategists in Sydney most want answers to. We recorded an event in December in Sydney but the audio didn't turn out well so we decided to do it again. We cover: - Moving to New York - Mental health - The strategist's career You can find Siona here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sionasingletary/ ** Next strategy training: Lucky Generals Cofounder Andy Nairn teaches a masterclass on planning superpowers (Feb 23) The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator (March) Details: http://www.sweathead.com. ** Sign up to our weekly strategy newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5 ** Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world. We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies. Find out about our company training here: https://sweathead.com/teams/

To start 2023, we're running a fast series on trends worth paying attention to in The Sweathead Trend Bender Series. Over five episodes this week, you'll get to hear 25 trends that people who get paid to find trends are highlighting for their clients. In this episode, Quick Study Cofounder Rob Engelsman lays down one big trend for marketers: A Return To Practicality. And we discuss the dynamics leading to it. You can find Rob here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rcengelsman/ ** Join a live Meta Trend workshop with Reddit's Matt Klein on Feb 3 here: http://bit.ly/3XOjJ7f Next strategy training: Lucky Generals Cofounder Andy Nairn teaches a masterclass on planning superpowers (Feb 23) The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator (March) Details: http://www.sweathead.com. ** Sign up to our weekly strategy newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5 ** Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world. We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies. Find out about our company training here: https://sweathead.com/teams/

To start 2023, we're running a fast series on trends worth paying attention to in The Sweathead Trend Bender Series. Over five episodes this week, you'll get to hear 25 trends that people who get paid to find trends are highlighting for their clients. In this episode, EssenceMediaCom's Chike Ume takes us through The Great AI Experiment, Anti-Establishment Is The New Establishment, and Hedonism (f*&k-it vibes). You can find Chike here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chikeume/ ** Join a live Meta Trend workshop with Reddit's Matt Klein on Feb 3 here: http://bit.ly/3XOjJ7f Next strategy training: Lucky Generals Cofounder Andy Nairn teaches a masterclass on planning superpowers (Feb 23) The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator (March) Details: http://www.sweathead.com. ** Sign up to our weekly strategy newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5 ** Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world. We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies. Find out about our company training here: https://sweathead.com/teams/

To start 2023, we're running a fast series on trends worth paying attention to in The Sweathead Trend Bender Series. Over five episodes this week, you'll get to hear 25 trends that people who get paid to find trends are highlighting for their clients. In this episode, Vayner's Olayinka Ajibola and Hayley Grant take us through their trend highlight reel. The trends come from The Vayner Constellation: 2023 Trends Forecast. They include New Americana, Gen-less, and Revenge Living. You can find Olayinka Ajibola here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olayinkaajibola/ Hayley Grant is here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleykgrant/ ** Join a live Meta Trend workshop with Reddit's Matt Klein on Feb 3 here:   http://bit.ly/3XOjJ7f Next strategy training: Lucky Generals Cofounder Andy Nairn teaches a masterclass (Feb 23) The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator (March) Details: http://www.sweathead.com. ** Sign up to our weekly strategy newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5 ** Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world. We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies. Find out about our company training here: https://sweathead.com/teams/

To start 2023, we're running a fast series on trends worth paying attention to in The Sweathead Trend Bender Series. Over five episodes this week, you'll get to hear 25 trends that people who get paid to find trends are highlighting for their clients. In this episode, Will Poskett breaks down five trends he's seen across all those trend reports everyone is gouging on. These are called Meta Trends. They include Coping Through Creativity, The Power Of The Past, and Recover In Reconnection. You can find Will and his deck about these trends here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-poskett-%F0%9F%94%A5-62942716/ ** Join a live Meta Trend workshop with Reddit's Matt Klein on Feb 3 here: http://bit.ly/3XOjJ7f Next strategy training: Lucky Generals Cofounder Andy Nairn teaches a masterclass (Feb 23) The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator (March) Details: http://www.sweathead.com. ** Sign up to our weekly strategy newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5 ** Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world. We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies. Find out about our company training here: https://sweathead.com/teams/

A big thank you to the Sweathead team and all the speakers for making The Sweathead Get-Ahead happen on January 20, our five-year anniversary.  We have so much planned for 2023, including a week of trends this week on the podcast (The Sweathead Trend Bender) and a live workshop with Reddit's Matt Klein on 16 meta trends on Feb 3. RSVP to the workshop here: http://bit.ly/3XOjJ7f ** Next strategy training: Lucky Generals Cofounder Andy Nairn teaches a masterclass on planning superpowers (Feb 23) The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator (March) Details: http://www.sweathead.com. ** Sign up to our weekly strategy newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5 ** Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world. We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies. Find out about our company training here: https://sweathead.com/teams/

Justin Graham runs M&C Saatchi Group in Australasia. He started in management consulting then moved to Leo Burnett Sydney as an account planner. I sat next to him there, or at least in arms' reach. Like, I could annoy him if I wanted to without using my arms if I felt like it. After Leo Burnett, Justin moved to BBDO in New York to run Gillette before returning to the Australian offices of Droga5. He always struck me as a very intentional decision-maker so,now that he's running things, I wanted to find out how intentional he was, how set on becoming an advertising agency CEO he'd been when we worked together, and what he's learned along the way. I think this is the first interview I've recorded face-to-face for Sweathead. Out of 400+.  We recorded this in Sydney at the M&C Saatchi offices. You can find Justin there most days of the week and also here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinalexandergraham/ ** Sweathead celebrates its fifth anniversary on January 20, 2023 with a live event "The Sweathead Get-Ahead". Join us for talks, case studies, and a chance to plan your year. Details at http://www.sweathead.com. ** 🔥 Strategy classes: http://www.sweathead.com ✉️ Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5 📸 Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead 🔊 Other links: https://znap.link/sweathead Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world. We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies.